Process for producing fabricsimulating material



Patented Jan. 4, 1944 PROCESS FOR PRODUCING FABRIC- SIMULATING MATERIAL Lambertus te Strake, Deurne, Netherlands; vested in the Alien Property-Custodian No Drawing. Application September 14, 1940, Se-

rial No. 356,383. 31, 1939 1 Claim.

My invention relates to a material simulating fabric or such like woven textiles, but which material has been manufactured from stockinet or tricot or such like knitted goods or knit-wear in general. My invention relates also to a process of producing such fabric simulating material, and to garments madethereirom.

One object of my invention is to produce a material simulating fabrics or such like woven textiles from tricot or knit-wear, thus obtaining materials which have a certain degree or elasticity and being suitable for being used in the clothing industry.

The material according to my invention has the appearance of woven textiles, and especially that of cloth, and is easily workable. Garments made from the material according to my invention fit very well and are very comfortable in wearing.

According to my invention tricot or stockinet or such like knitted materials or knit-wear are fulled and then stretched and are further subjected to known treatments. The iulling-operation may be applied to the tricot or knitted material in the well known tubular form after which the material is washed and cut in the length of the tube and afterwards stretched.

I prefer to full in such a way that the length and/or the width is decreased more than 20%, e. g., 40-50%, and thereupon the stretching is carried out.

A further advantage of my invention is that the danger of tearing is much less than with ordinary woven textiles, as the material according to my invention does not possess warp and weft.

In my specification and claim the words tricot, stockinet, materials of the tricot-class, knitted goods and knit-wear are intended to cover the materials produced by means of circular knitting machines, circular knitting machines with spring needles, or with beard needles, warp knitting looms, flat knitting machines, the Maratti-machine and such like machines or looms.

In order to elucidate my invention the following example is given, which is not intended to limit the scope of protection.

Tricot or such like knitted material in tubular shape is fulled in a fulling-trough or fullingmachine, e. g., by means of a solution or Marseilles-soap, at 25 C. during 1 or 2 hours. The duration and the other conditions of the fullerreaction are controlled in connection with the degree of fullness required. The addition of the soap solution is carried out preferably while the material is running in the machine.

The rims of the piece are stitched together in the Netherlands October as usual and the piece is applied to the reel. As soon as the piece is moist throughout it is allowed to run in the machine for another period of about 1 to 2 hours. The length of the piece has now been diminished by 40 to 50% and the width by 25% or more. Thereupon the piece is washed with lukewarm water (25-30" C.) till the soap solution has been thoroughly removed. Finally the material is centrifuged till air-dry, laid down flat or rolled up and cut lengthwise.

The material treated as described is tightened and dried. After being stretched to the desired degree, the material is sheared once or several times till it is sufficiently smooth. Thereupon it is decatized, ,e. g., with steam. The temperature is regulated in accordance with the desired properties of the material. The material can be made free of shrinkage and pressed.

By applying the process according to my invention to tricot obtained by means of the Maratti-machine, i. e., to tricot in a tubular shape with a circumference of, e. g., 176 cm., shrinkage is carried out until the circumference is reduced to about -130 cm. Thereafter, stretching is efiected so that the final circumference is about -140 cm.

It is possible to stretch further dependent on the degree of Iulling. Strong stretching, however, will diminish the fabric-efiect and also the thickness of the final product.

I prefer to dry the material when in a stretched condition, which is the best technical method. However, this is not always necessary and very delicate materials should be stretched first, then dried in a loose condition, after which they are stretched again, e. g., on rollers.

The material obtained according to my invention is very suitable for making garments for gentlemen, ladies and children, these garments combining the favorable properties of tricot with the appearance of woven textiles.

I claim:

A process for the production of knitted goods and the like having the appearance of woven goods comprising, initially fulling tubular knitted goods in a soap solution at a temperature of about 25 C. for a period of one to two hours, then uniting the ends of the piece and passing it continuously through said solution for another period of approximately one to two hours, whereby the length of the goods is diminished 40 to 50 per cent and the width of the goods is diminished at least 25 per cent, and thereafter concurrently stretching and drying to bring about an approximate increase of 10 per cent in the circumferential dimension of the goods whereby the appearance similar to a Woven fabric is obtained.

LAMBERTUS TE STRAKE. 

